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[legger123]

I've been currently netting quite a bit recently to get myself ready for the season, although when I bat I seem to struggle getting my feet moving? I'm normally a fairly fleet footed batsmen, but what I've tried to do I just can't seem to get them going, including playing a lot of edgy drives.
So just wondering, what would you people recommend for me to try?

[legger123]

Also as you know, I've come back from tearing my cartilage in my knee, its really been since I've come back from this

[Joe]

I've been currently netting quite a bit recently to get myself ready for the season, although when I bat I seem to struggle getting my feet moving? I'm normally a fairly fleet footed batsmen, but what I've tried to do I just can't seem to get them going, including playing a lot of edgy drives.
So just wondering, what would you people recommend for me to try?

I am no coach but when I got coached a while back (I used to bat like I had concrete shoes) the coach would make me come down the track and drive every ball and then come down the track and flick every ball to leg etc etc for 2 hours (against slow bowlers). Then when you bat normally you move your feet better naturally. Am sure this will be shot down but it worked for me.


Try a small shuffle/trigger movement.

[legger123]

Cheers mate, any help is appreciated! Need it sorted by the start of the season

[praguetaz]

Try standing on the balls of your feet rather than flat footed.. it should help you move your feet quicker as long as you stay balanced i.e. don't tip too forward. It worked great for me last season....

[legger123]

I do always try to stand on the balls of my feet!

[praguetaz]

Then I'd try some agility and footwork drills as part of your training/workouts/warm-up e.g. skipping; like Joe recommended so moving your feet becomes more 'natural' and not just for getting forward but back and across.

[Joe]

Gooch played badminton to help with his footwork.

[legger123]

I might just get dad down the nets with me and do a lot of tennis ball work, both back foot and front foot

[praguetaz]

Gooch played badminton to help with his footwork.

Exactly! You can't play good badminton without moving your feet... nicely remembered Joe...

[FvanN]

I used to play every shot from my back foot (there is a video of me and my mates clowning around on youtube @ 90mph and the comments slatted me) so I have been working hard on taking guard on leg stump and then as the bowler is in his stride I move my back foot to middle and by the time the ball is released my front foot is moving into the step to play from the front foot, this seems to have been working really well for me. But it has mentalally difficult to make sure I move each time.

[bigbenh99]

Although I'm afraid it might be the most obvious and simple answer, practice! Just get as much time in nets as possible and make your footwork the key thing to focus on, more important even than hitting sweet drives etc, just get your feet moving to the ball on every delivery. I had a similar problem last season as it was my first back after 2 seasons out and the only way to do it for me was repetition until it became natural instinct again.

You could even try going into nets without a bat at all, just pad up and do a session of simply getting your feet to the ball, that'll make you concentrate more, once that's sorted then hitting the ball with a bat will be easy!

[Buzz]

I think you might be missing a trick here.
are you doing and warm up/stretching before you start? before messing with your technique, you are coming back from injury so extra warming up is essential.

what you are saying is that at the start of your session you need to have a bit more confidence to get right to the pitch of the ball, so part of this is having the blood pumping and muscles ready to work.

also before you start do some work with a tennis ball in front of you.

alternatively you can, before you start batting try catching the ball as if you are batting from some under arm feed with your feet moving.

[keysersolze]

 I would say you might just be a little rusty, when netting its always good to set a field with cone markers along the edge of the nets to show fielding positions and just concentrate on hitting the gaps. The feet not moving might be a by product of your injury I would check with your surgeon and physiotherapist and see what they have to say.

[Nickauger]

I agree with Buzz here. Try setting up a ring of cones around you in a semi-circle with tennis balls on them, and move to drive each one quickly. So out to the first then back to your stance and out to 2, back to stance etc. Just like Buzz has said, as a warm-up.